The FIA Formula One World Championship will be back in action this weekend at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, home for Round 19 of the 2024 season, the first leg of a triple header in the Americas.
The United States Grand Prix starts a triple-header running on the American continent, Round 19 of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, the fourth of six F1 Sprint weekends in 2024, followed by events in Mexico and Brazil.
The Circuit of The Americas (COTA), located in Austin, Texas, features a race track layout spanning 5.513 km (3.426 miles) over 56 laps and 20 turns, offering plenty of overtaking opportunities.
The fully anticlockwise circuit, boasting medium to high levels of downforce, has been extensively repaved for 2024.
Therefore, collecting data from the new surface during the lone free practice session on Friday will be crucial for the teams to evaluate the abrasiveness of the track and analyze how the tires behave.
In the first sector, a 22-meter climb off the line to a wide left-hander Turn 1, called Big Red, poses a particular challenge to drivers, who experience a massive corner elevation change, the biggest of the season, leading to an interconnected series of corners all the way to the hairpin at Turn 11.
A long straight follows, leading into the final sector of the track, characterized by a sequence of corners.
Pirelli, Formula 1 official tire supplier, has chosen the dry compounds C2 as Hard, C3 as Medium, and C4 as Soft for the racing weekend in Austin.
Some outfits bring updates to COTA preparing for the final part of the season, as special liveries to celebrate the American venue.
Haas F1 Team driver Nico Hulkenberg shared his thoughts about the event, outlining: “The United States Grand Prix is one of the highlight races of the year for us; we have a lot of American partners, and of course, our home fans.
“It’s a race where the fans are very knowledgeable about F1, and it’s really motivating to see the support of more than 400,000 people during the weekend. We have another update to bring this race, and it’s a Sprint weekend, so every lap will count out on track.”
The American outfit is bringing its main update for the remainder of the season, “mainly involving a step of development in the floor and bodywork,” according to Haas F1 Team Technical Director Andrea De Zordo.
“The target, as always, will be to improve aero load to make the car faster,” De Zordo explained. “It’s difficult to make a big step in lap time, so we’re speaking about small numbers, but in the tight midfield fight, everything is an important step, and we hope to deliver.”
“This is a development and further evolution of our package, not something new, although the car will look a bit different.”
Last week, the team announced TOYOTA GAZOO Racing as its official technical partner on a new multi-year agreement with the Japanese automotive manufacturer, providing design, technical, and manufacturing services.
With six races to go, McLaren holds the top position in the Constructors’ Championship with 516 points; Red Bull Racing stands 41 points behind and 34 ahead of Scuderia Ferrari.
Andrea Stella, Team Principal McLaren F1, commented: “After a busy few weeks back at the factory to consolidate and strengthen our Championship campaign, we now head to Austin for the first of two triple headers. We’re only six races away from the end of the season, but there are still a lot of points on the table.
“Many teams will be bringing updates in these final races, so we expect some close competition, but as always, we keep our heads down, focus on ourselves, and look to consistently deliver points in our quest for both titles.”
Three-time F1 world champion Max Verstappen leads the Drivers’ Championship with 331 points, followed closely by Lando Norris (279) and Charles Leclerc with 245 points.
